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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25222099">Be My Baby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixelated/pseuds/pixelated'>pixelated</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1960s America, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Black!James, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Cuban!Sirius, Dancing, Dirty Dancing AU, First Time, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Meet-Cute, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, RS Fix It Fest 2020, Romance, Summer Love, but both are pretty mild!, wolfstar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:41:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25222099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixelated/pseuds/pixelated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s the summer of 1963, and 18 year old Remus Lupin discovers dance, love, and even himself. </p><p>(A very romantic and very gay Dirty Dancing AU.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hope Lupin/Lyall Lupin, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>173</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>RS Fix It Fest 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the backseat of his family’s ‘55 Ford Century Squire with the window down and the warm breeze rushing through his honey-brown curls, Remus sighs and props his elbow on the door’s plastic panel to hold his sleepy head up as his heavy eyelids begin to droop. </p><p>It’s been a long three hour drive from their little hometown of Peoria, Illinois to the Hogsmeade Resort in Galena, but as his father pulls the big car up to the curb in front of what looks to be the main hall, Remus begins to perk up. The front lawn is bright green and alive with activity, with people shouting happily and playing games while the resort’s employees hurry to help carry suitcases to the guests’ rooms.</p><p>It’s the summer of 1963 and Remus has just graduated high school, and although this isn’t exactly his vacation of choice (he’d rather have gone with his best friends, Alice and Frank, to Florida to hang out on the beach) he’s quite looking forward to spending this time with his parents before saying goodbye and heading off to Chicago for college.</p><p>“Well,” his father begins, looking over his shoulder to Remus with a smile, “we’re here.”</p><p>Remus opens his door and hops out onto the sidewalk, closing it behind him with a heavy shove before making his way to the trunk and pulling out two of their overstuffed bags. As his father steps out of the car and hurries to the opposite side to help his mother, a rather portly older man rushes up to them, snapping his fingers at a young Black man with thick, squared glasses to gesture him over.</p><p>“Lyall Lupin! So glad you could make it out this summer. I’ve only been insisting for years!” the man says, beaming as he shakes his father’s hand before turning to his mother and clasping her dainty hands. “And this must be your lovely daughter.”</p><p>His mother laughs; Remus smiles but rolls his eyes at the joke. </p><p>“Mr. Slughorn! This is my wife, Hope,” his father says, then reaches over to squeeze Remus’s shoulder. “And this is my son, Moony.”</p><p>“Nice to meet you, sir,” Remus says, nodding his head.</p><p>“Moony, you say?” Mr. Slughorn questions, raising his white eyebrows.</p><p>“Just a nickname, but it’s the only thing anyone ever calls him anymore,” his father explains before turning to his wife. “Mr. Slughorn is the patient of mine I was telling you about who invited us. He runs the resort out here.”</p><p>“Please, please, call me Horace!” the old man insists. “And put those bags down, son. James here will take those to your room. I put you all up in number 20, our finest cabin!”</p><p>“Oh, well thank you very much, Horace,” his mother says warmly.  </p><p>“You know, if it wasn’t for the good doctor here, my ticker would be kaput!” Slughorn says, leading the two of them into the main building.</p><p>“Good afternoon,” James—the young Black man—says with a friendly smile as he pushes his glasses up and takes the bags from Remus, but Remus simply takes two more from the trunk before shutting it and follows James along the concrete path to the guest cabins. “Moony, right? You’ve got quite the arm on ya. You should take up a job here.”</p><p>“I don’t know about that,” Remus laughs. “After this summer I’ll be off to college.”</p><p>“What’re you studying?”</p><p>“Law.”</p><p>“That sounds nice! I’m just workin’ here to save up for my wedding. Mr. Slughorn is real nice and pays fair too.”</p><p>“Oh, congratulations!”</p><p>“Thanks!” James says. “My girl, Lily, she works here too. One of the dance instructors.”</p><p>“There’s dancing here?” </p><p>“Sure is. There’s a merengue lesson in the gazebo starting soon if you’re interested.”</p><p>Remus laughs again. “Oh no. Not me. I’ve got two left feet.”</p><p>“Ya never know. She taught me herself and I was the same way. I was stubborn as hell about it too. Good thing she’s even more stubborn than me.” James shrugs as they skip up the steps to Cabin 20 and he sets the bags down on the little porch to fish the room key out of his shirt pocket. “There ya go,” he says, and hands it to Remus. “Feel free to do the honors.”</p><p>Remus takes the key and unlocks the door, then picks up his bags. James follows him inside and they set the suitcases down on the floor near the door.</p><p>The cabin is much nicer than Remus expected—there are two comfortable looking beds on either side of the main living area swathed in muted blues and greens and pinks, a small kitchenette, a decent sized bathroom, and a large, clear window that looks straight out to the sparkling blue lake.</p><p>“Beautiful, isn’t it?” James asks, nudging Remus’s arm. “Three weeks here will feel like a year, but it’s not that long. Take in as much of it as you can.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Remus turns to look at him. “Where did you say that gazebo was?”</p><p> </p><p>————<br/><br/></p><p>“And-a-one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!”</p><p>Remus isn’t quite sure what he was expecting Lily to look like—perhaps a part of him thought she’d look more like James—but a tiny, fiery redhead with freckled ivory skin was not initially in his mind. He feels more than a little guilty for making assumptions.</p><p>The white painted gazebo is large but overcrowded, and as Remus attempts to move back and forth, he’s jostled repeatedly by the much older crowd. He’d been hoping to meet some people around his age, but the only other person who seems to be a part of his generation is Lily herself.</p><p>“Really dig those toes into the floorboards! Move your hips and shimmy, shimmy!” Lily calls out over the tambora, guira, and marimba-laden music. “Good job everybody! Now we’re going to pair up! I wanna see two circles! Ladies, inner circle, men outer circle!”</p><p>Remus hurries to line up within the men’s circle, and they all begin to move in opposite directions along to the music.</p><p>“Alright now, when the music stops, you’re gonna find the person of your dreams!”</p><p>They continue on in their circles, shaking their hips and moving their shoulders. Several of the older ladies make eyes at him and he smiles apprehensively, not wanting to give any of them the wrong idea. The music finally stops, and an elderly woman in a large sun hat promptly shoves another woman out of her way to get to Remus. He sends an apologetic look to the first lady as the second one wraps her arms around his middle and pulls him flush against her soft bosom.</p><p>“Alright! And-a-one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!”</p><p> </p><p>—————</p><p> </p><p>After unpacking their luggage and sharing a nice meal together in the dining hall, the Lupin family settles into their cabin to relax for the evening. Remus, who is feeling unusually adventurous in this new exciting place, decides he’d like to explore the grounds of the resort a little bit before going to bed.</p><p>“I think I’m gonna go look around for a while,” Remus announces to his parents from where he’s sitting on his bed and pulling his tennis shoes back on.</p><p>“Alright, Moony,” his mother says. “But don’t stay out too late.”</p><p>Remus smiles, rolling his eyes. “Mom.”</p><p>“Hope, the boy is seventeen—”</p><p>“Eighteen,” Remus corrects his father, chuckling.</p><p>“That’s what I said. Anyway, you’re a man now. Go out and have fun, just stay out of trouble.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Remus says, rising from the bed before leaning down to drop a kiss onto the top of his mother’s head. With a wave over his shoulder, he opens the door and skips down the steps, following the path back to the main hall. There isn’t much happening there when he arrives, but a light across the little lake summons him over like a moth and he begins to follow it.</p><p>There are plenty of people still about down here, mostly the teenagers looking to have some fun without their parents at the lake—young couples necking amidst the pine trees, a few older kids swimming while a portable radio crackles out a song that he doesn’t recognize.</p><p>Remus ignores them and continues following the light, and as he moves closer he finds himself among another cluster of cabins. These are significantly different though, more downtrodden, and when he spots James struggling to carry several awkward bags, he hopes the resort hasn’t separated the guests by race.</p><p>“James!” Remus shouts, hurrying over to take one of the heavy bags. “Here, let me help you.”</p><p>“Oh, thanks, Moony,” James says, pausing to wipe his brow with the back of his hand. “Don’t let Sluggy catch you helpin’ me though.”</p><p>“What’s in these?”</p><p>“Ah, soccer balls and volleyballs. I was supposed to put them away earlier but time got away from me. They go in the sports shed over here.”</p><p>Remus hefts the bag over his shoulder and follows James to the shed, and as they walk the muffled sound of music becomes louder and louder. Remus stops to look up at the building it’s coming from—it seems to be the main hall for this side of the resort, only compared to the other one it’s significantly smaller and unkempt.</p><p>“What is this?” Remus asks as James is dropping his bags into the shed. “Don’t tell me this is where the Black guests stay.”</p><p>“Oh, no,” James laughs. “We don’t get many Black guests, to be honest. This side of the lake is the employees’ quarters.”</p><p>“Oh!” Remus exclaims, raising his eyebrows. “And what’s in there?”</p><p>“Can you keep a secret?” James asks him, taking the third bag and depositing it into the shed.</p><p>“I suppose.”</p><p>“I’m only doing this because you’re a pretty cool cat, Moony,” James says, making Remus laugh out loud. </p><p>Back home, he never was considered <em> cool </em>—rather more of a geek and a loner than anything else, too consumed with studying or spending time with his only two friends to get invited to do anything exciting, and absolutely zero desire to date any of the few girls who showed interest. </p><p>“Come on, follow me.”</p><p>With his arm slung around Remus’s neck, James leads him up the ramp to the hall and yanks open the door with his free hand. The music and heat both hit him like a heavy wave, and before Remus can even fully comprehend what he’s seeing, James nudges him inside and the door shuts with a <em> clink </em> behind them.</p><p>There are dozens of people in here, all of them young and sweaty and writhing to the music. There are Black bodies pressed against White bodies, male bodies pressed against female bodies, female bodies pressed against female bodies, and Remus’s eyes go wide in surprise. </p><p>“Heya, Jimmy!” Remus turns to look over at the voice as Lily, James’s fiancée, strides up beside him, linking her arm around his. “Who’s this?”</p><p>“This is Moony. Moony, this is Lily.”</p><p>“Hi. We’ve actually met already.”</p><p>“Oh, right! I know you. You were dancin’ with all the blue-haired grandmas at my merengue lesson,” Lily says with a sideways smile and a wad of bubblegum in her cheek. “Bet this is quite the shock for ya.”</p><p>“How’d they learn to do that?” Remus asks, gesturing at the dancers.</p><p>“That’s how everyone’s dancin’ these days,” Lily explains. “Learnin’ in their parents’ basements, sneakin’ out to nightclubs.” </p><p>“They let girls dance with other girls?” he asks, nodding toward two young women with their hands practically beneath one another’s skimpy clothing.</p><p>“They?” James asks him, snickering quietly. “They who? We do what we want over here, and can’t nobody judge us for it. Girls with girls, Black with White, guys with guys—”</p><p>“Guys with guys?”</p><p>There’s a sudden cheer and several high-pitched whistles from the crowd, and the three of them raise their heads as another young man enters the room—he’s tall and tanned and his long, dark hair is pulled back into a messy chignon, and all eyes are on him as he sweeps into the room with an air of bravado and spins a leggy blonde away from her female partner to dance with him. They move easily together, their hips fully aligned as they grind and sway to the beat. It’s pure sex with clothes, and Remus feels the heat in his cheeks just watching them—<em> him </em>, with his impossibly tight jeans and his hands high on her smooth thighs.</p><p>“Who is that?” Remus asks.</p><p>“That’s my best friend, Sirius Black. He’s the male dance instructor here.”</p><p>“They look great together,” Remus says, though his eyes are solely on Sirius, stuck on the hypnotic way his hips move to the rhythm, on his long legs and strong arms. Remus swallows thickly.</p><p>“Right?” Lily agrees. “You’d think they were a couple.”</p><p>“Are they not?”</p><p>“Nah. Marlene’s with Dorcas over there,” James tells him, pointing at the Black girl across the way whom Marlene had been dancing with first.</p><p>Remus blinks and looks away from the dancing couple to stare at James and Lily. They both seem completely unfussed by that statement, that not only are two women together, but they’re another interracial couple to boot. He isn’t used to seeing things like this back home, and as taboo as it might seem there, there’s something pure and wholesome about it now. Seeing these two women embrace one another, seeing James and Lily together—Remus begins to realize that there is still some good in the world, however hidden away it may be.</p><p>Lily reaches out then to touch Remus’s arm. “Wanna try it, Moony? Jimmy won’t mind.”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know,” Remus says nervously, his eyes darting between Lily and James and then back to Sirius who is steadfastly walking toward them. “I wouldn’t know what to do. I’d only embarrass myself.”</p><p>“Yo, who’s the kid?” Sirius asks, pointing his chin toward Remus.</p><p>“He’s with us,” James says.</p><p>“I grabbed his balls,” Remus blurts out, immediately cringing at his own words, then mumbles again to himself, <em> “I grabbed his balls?” </em></p><p>Sirius arches an eyebrow as a slow smile spreads across his face. “Is that so?”</p><p>“I—” Remus begins, his blush burning even brighter beneath Sirius’s gaze, but Sirius cuts him off by taking both of his hands and spinning him into the middle of the dance floor. Remus stumbles over his own feet but Sirius catches him, and with a strong hand on his back he helps guide Remus forward, toward his own body, and Remus can’t help but sink into the feeling of it.</p><p>“What’s your name, kid?”</p><p>“Everyone calls me Moony.”</p><p>“Moony,” Sirius repeats with another smile. “Bend your knees and keep your body weight down and centered,” he says, leading Remus into a gentle sway with one large hand on the small of his back.</p><p>Remus starts to look down at his feet, but Sirius reaches up with his fingertips to tilt Remus’s chin back up.</p><p>“Don’t look down,” he instructs with a smooth Latino accent rolling off of his tongue. “Look at me—look at my eyes.”</p><p>Remus can’t help but follow his every command, and he finds himself staring up into Sirius’s striking grey eyes, taking the excuse to really get a good look at him up close. He’s more than just handsome, Remus decides, his eyes flickering from his Sirius’s eyes to his sharp jawline to his sweat-slick brow to the loose strands of wet hair framing his face—he’s the epitome of sex on legs.</p><p>“Good. Much better,” Sirius says, his breath hot against Remus’s ear. He lifts Remus’s arms then and drapes them over his shoulders. “Now roll your hips with mine.” </p><p>His entire body is on fire as Sirius’s fingers grip his skinny hips and roll against him. He’s never felt anything like this before—he’s hot and tingly all over, nearly about to explode with his overwhelming arousal, and still he wants to feel more of this, more of Sirius. But, as the song fades out, Sirius spins Remus back out and deposits him again between James and Lily before turning his back to him and taking up another partner as the next song begins.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The following afternoon, Remus finds himself lounging by the pool with his mother while his father is off golfing with Mr. Slughorn. A plump young man with mousy blond hair and a name tag that says </span>
  <em>
    <span>Peter</span>
  </em>
  <span> casually watches the girls splash about while he serves drinks, earning a pointed look of disappointment from Remus before he notices and scurries away to take more drink orders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus spots Lily on one end of the pool, slathering herself in sunblock and, deciding he should go say hello after leaving so abruptly last night, turns to his mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be right back, Mom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” she asks, raising a hand to lower her sunglasses and peer at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just going to say hi to a friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You met someone already? Who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her name’s Lily,” he says, pointing across the pool. “The redhead over there. She teaches dancing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Well go on then!” she responds, and Remus immediately realizes she’s misunderstood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s only a friend, Mom. She’s engaged.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmhm,” she says with a smile and waves her hand to shoo him away. “Alright, get out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s not my type!” Remus announces as he rises from his lounge chair, hurrying off before he can stick around and hear whatever her retort may be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He plops himself down on the edge of the pool beside Lily and sticks his feet into the cool water, grinning when he sees her light up at his presence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony! Comin’ to my class later? We’re learning the rumba,” she says gleefully, shimmying her shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t exactly enjoy being groped by gaggles of grannies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily grins knowingly. “I’m sure you’d much rather dance with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sirius</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He can feel himself already turning beet-red at the mere mention of the other man’s name, embarrassed that his true feelings can be read so easily. Honestly, he’s had nothing but Sirius on his mind since he stumbled out of the employees’ dance hall high on adrenaline and his overwhelming sexual desire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Am I that obvious?” Remus asks her in a low whisper. “I don’t even—I mean, I’ve never—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay,” she assures him, touching his bare shoulder. “Me ‘nd the others—we’re not gonna judge you. You’re free to be yourself around us, alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he says forlornly, looking down at his feet in the water. “I envy you so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and James. You don’t care what people think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s not that simple. My big sister, she doesn’t want nothin’ to do with Jimmy. We used to be so close, too. Not many people are too progressive thinkin’. Our generation is gettin’ better about it but,” she pauses here, shrugging. “We’ve kept our engagement a secret, mostly. Just so we can save up ‘nd run off to get married on our own. I know a White minister who’ll marry us so we won’t get grief about it, but he won’t do it for free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, I’m so sorry,” Remus says, feeling a bit guilty over the jealousy growing inside of him—at least they </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> get married, he thinks to himself, knowing full well that’s only the beginning of the struggle she and James will have to face together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway,” she says, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she stands up, patting Remus on his arm. “Enough of my woe-is-me stuff. If you can’t make the rumba lesson, I’ll be dancing in the main hall tonight after dinner. Sirius will be there too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a lovely dinner, Remus sits at a little round table in the main hall with his parents, dressed in one of the nicer suits he brought for the trip. His normally unruly curls have been forced into submission with his mother’s thick styling pomade, and he even stole a spritz of his father’s cologne. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s anxious to see Sirius again, unsure whether or not the connection he felt between them while they danced last night was even genuine, but he’s certain that Sirius has awakened something within him—something that he’d vowed to keep hidden for as long as he possibly could. Now though, he simply cannot help wanting to be near the enigma that is Sirius Black.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily and Sirius enter the room arm-in-arm, smiling and waving to the guests. Remus sits up a little bit straighter, not failing to notice the way his mother shoots him a look as if she knows who’s attention he’s vying for tonight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The evening passes slowly. When Remus isn’t being accosted by elderly women begging him for dances, he’s alternating between watching his parents sway together sweetly on the dance floor and watching Sirius make his rounds, envious of the female guests smiling wide with their hands on his broad shoulders as they foxtrot across the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Lily?” Mr. Slughorn huffs, waddling across the dance floor. “The guests are asking for her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s taking a break,” Remus overhears Sirius tell him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A fifteen minute break or another all-nighter? I love the girl, I do, but she’s really taking advantage of me here. I can’t pay her for all this time off!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s just sick is all,” Sirius assures him with a friendly pat on the back before scooping another woman into his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus frowns and rises from his chair to step outside for a breath of fresh air, then leans against the outer wall. This isn’t the way he’d expected this evening to go, not that he was expecting much, but Sirius had barely even looked his way all night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He figures it’s possible that Sirius doesn’t even remember him. Remus isn’t much to look at anyway—he’s average looking in every way and rather skinny on top of that. His nose is big and his hair is a perpetual mess, and how stupid must he be, really, to think that someone like Sirius would even look twice at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighs, and as the cicadas chirp in the trees above him in mocking, he looks up at the slivered crescent moon peeking through the clouds. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Moony</span>
  </em>
  <span>—what a ridiculous name. His parents had been calling him that since he was a small child, forever lost in his own daydreams and mooning away. He simply got used to it and it eventually caught on. Even his teachers and friends back home call him Moony. Hell, even the people </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> call him that. Perhaps, he thinks, it’s time to stop daydreaming on the moon and come back down to Earth. Perhaps it’s time to grow up and push those things, those desires he knows he can’t have, out of his mind for good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily, please!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Sev! I told you over ‘nd over that I’m not interested! Now just leave it alone!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No means no!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus perks up at that, making a beeline to dart around the corner of the building. Lily is there, stumbling away from whom Remus instantly recognizes as one of the resort’s waiters—a greasy looking, hawk-nosed guy with a personality as ugly as his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Remus calls out, hurrying over to her and wrapping his arms around her tiny frame. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is this? Another one of your delinquent boyfriends?” the waiter guy shouts out at her, curling his lips into a sneer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sev!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave her alone,” Remus says to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You disgust me,” the guy—Sev—says to Lily, spitting at her feet. Remus suddenly feels the urge to punch this guy in his ugly nose, and that’s truly saying something because normally Remus doesn’t have a single violent bone in his body. Luckily for Sev, he decides it’s a good time to turn his back, and he walks away with a huff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need Jimmy,” Lily says, looking up at Remus with tears in her wide, green eyes. Remus nods and leads her over to a wooden bench to sit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll find him for you,” he assures her. “Stay right here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t know where James is at the moment, but he figures Sirius probably does, so he leaves Lily where she is to run back inside the main hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius is still dancing, twirling a giggling older woman around, when Remus rushes over to him and whispers into his ear that Lily is in trouble and needs James. Sirius apologizes to his dance partner and excuses himself before setting off in a hurry toward the kitchens with Remus trailing behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They push open the doors, startling James so badly that he nearly trips over his mop bucket. Quickly, Remus explains what’s happened and James promptly drops his mop, ripping off his dirty apron and tossing it onto the worktop as the three of them rush through the back delivery entrance and hurry off across the lawn to where Lily is still sitting, sobbing into her handkerchief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” James asks her, falling to his knees in the dirt at her feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sniffs and dabs at her bright red nose. “Sev caught me throwing up in the bathroom. I had to tell him. He offered to give me money to </span>
  <em>
    <span>take care</span>
  </em>
  <span> of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take care of what?” Remus asks. “Do you need a doctor? My father—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m pregnant,” Lily says, looking up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily!” Sirius begins to chastise her, but she cuts him off with a wave of her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. I trust Moony.” She reaches over and squeezes Remus’s hand. “You’ve been nothin’ but kind to me. Just… don’t tell anyone else about this, alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cross my heart,” Remus assures her. “Why does this Sev guy care so much?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a racist piece of shit,” Sirius says angrily. “He’s been trying to get James fired for ages. Now he has his ammunition.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And he’s been obsessed with Lily since she started working here,” James adds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were friends at first, or at least I thought so,” Lily explains. “But when he found out I was datin’ Jimmy, he got so angry. He said a lot of terrible things about him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, James. That’s not right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, I’m not worried about me right now. Only ones I care about are my girl and my baby,” James says, holding her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily smiles sweetly. “This is why Jimmy ‘nd me are in such a big hurry to get married. Imagine the scandal when an unwed White woman gives birth to a half-Black baby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there anything I can do to help?” Remus asks. “I could ask my father—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Sirius says firmly. “No one else needs to know about this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Diagon Resort down the road is having a talent show with a cash prize,” Lily says, looking up at Remus with a watery smile. “Sirius and I are gonna win it ‘nd split the prize money. It’s 500 bucks total.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got the rest saved up,” James adds. “That 250 is all we need, then at summer’s end we’re outta here.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sun is high in the clear afternoon sky, birds are chirping in the tall, green juniper trees, and a long line of sweaty geriatrics are filing out of the gazebo after Lily’s cha-cha lesson and making their way over to the refreshments table to indulge on sweet lemonade and cucumber sandwiches. Remus lingers behind, pretending to stop and tie up his shoelaces, and when the last person steps out, he stands and gives Lily a sympathetic smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling?” he asks her, then jumps up to sit on the edge of the gazebo’s railing, kicking his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She chuckles and wipes her brow, hopping up to sit beside him. “Nauseated. You know morning sickness doesn’t just happen in the mornings? ‘Cause I sure didn’t. I don’t know anything about what I’m doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, I can ask my father for the money,” Remus says, reiterating his offer from last night. “I won’t tell him what it’s for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re real sweet Moony, but I can’t ask that of you. You barely know me, ‘nd besides, I just know we’ll win that talent show. We’ll be alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you enough to tell you’re a good person. You and James both. And you deserve all the happiness in the world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do too,” she says, looking at him with a wide, knowing smile. “You know, your cha-cha was actually really good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Sirius would be impressed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus huffs and shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t think Sirius likes me very much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He can definitely be a bit standoffish,” Lily agrees. “He’s not quick to trust people and keeps his defenses up. Sirius likes to come across as this cool bad boy, but he really is a softy once ya get to know him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t want to get to know me. He hates me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has no reason to hate you. You’re sweet! You’re adorable!” she counters, throwing a friendly arm around his shoulders and pulling him in for a hug, but her bright smile suddenly wavers and her arm falls away. Remus looks up to follow her line of sight, only to find Sev marching up the pathway to the gazebo. “Great, just what I need. More nausea,” Lily sighs, sliding off of the railing and crossing her arms defensively over her chest as Sev approaches and stops halfway up the steps. “Can I help you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we talk privately?” he asks her, his dark, beady eyes darting over to Remus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything you wanna say to me, you can say it in front of Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sev sighs and rolls his eyes, but he’s evidently not willing to fight her over it. “I got you the money you need.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What money? I never asked you for money.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The money for you to take care of your </span>
  <em>
    <span>problem</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he says, voice low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did you get that much money?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I already told you,” Lily snaps, stepping closer to poke him in the chest. “My baby isn’t a </span>
  <em>
    <span>problem</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m happy about it. Jimmy ‘nd I are gettin’ married and that’s the end of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily, you’re being ridiculous!” he exclaims, grabbing onto her wrist. “Are you really going to throw your entire life away? For some four-eyed ni—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare</span>
  </em>
  <span> say that word,” Lily cuts him off, hissing through her teeth as she attempts to wrench her arm out of his grasp. “You’re nothing but a bully! James Potter is more of a man than you’ll ever be!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily, come on—” Sev tries again, taking a step backward down the steps and pulls Lily along with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stumbles in her high-heeled dance shoes, and Remus rises to his feet too slowly from where he’s sitting to reach her in time, watching in what seems like slow-motion as Lily trips down the gazebo steps. She grips onto the railing to keep herself upright, but even Remus can tell that her ankle has rolled unnaturally. She doesn’t make much sound besides a pained whimper—she only sticks out her foot, staring at it in shock and horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” Sev says, the realization of what he’s done dawning on him. “Lily, I—let me help you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… leave me alone,” she tells him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve done enough!” Remus can’t help but shout at him as he moves forward past Sev to get to his new friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let go of her, I know what she needs,” Sev hollers at him, grabbing Remus by the back of his button-down shirt. But Remus has reached his limit with this guy, having had enough of his berating Lily and James both and Sev’s inability to mind his own business. Remus can’t help the pure fury that suddenly overwhelms him—he’s never been so angry in all his life—and he whips around with his fists clenched, socking Sev right in his obscenely large nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sev stumbles backward, shouting in agony as both of his hands fly up to cover his face. Remus doesn’t even pause to care, he simply coaxes Lily to climb up onto his back and carries her all the way to the medical cabin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry to bring you folks into this. Please, have a seat,” Mr. Slughorn says with a wave of his hand, settling into the chair behind his desk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sev is already there, looking miserable with a big purple bruise on his cheek and nose, and Remus doesn’t even feel the least bit of remorse about it as he and his parents all sit down in the remaining three chairs opposite Slughorn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now,” Slughorn continues, “I’ve already spoken to Ms. Evans about this privately, and Mr. Snape has told me his version of things, but I’d like to hear from you now, Mr. Lupin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He says </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mr. Lupin </span>
  </em>
  <span>while looking at Remus rather than his father, and Remus can feel all four pairs of eyes on him as he begins to tell his side of the story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was talking with Lily in the gazebo after her cha-cha lesson. Sev came over and there was an altercation—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About what?” his father asks him, but Remus dodges the question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, about what?” Sev echos.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily’s private business. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyway</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sev grabbed onto her arm and pulled her down the gazebo steps. I could tell she was injured and I wanted to get her out of there as quickly as possible, but Sev was trying to pull me off of her while she was telling him to leave. So I hit him,” Remus finishes, his eyes gliding over to gauge his parents’ reactions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> did this to this boy?” his mother asks, her eyebrows raised in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. And I’m not sorry about it, either,” he responds defiantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Horace, I assure you, my son is not a violent person,” his father protests.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Slughorn chuckles. “Well of course not—look at him! He can’t weigh more than 120 pounds. I’m honestly surprised he did that much damage. Er—no offense intended, son.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None taken, sir.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, excuse me—” Sev interrupts, scowling, “but </span>
  <em>
    <span>Moony</span>
  </em>
  <span> severely injured me and needs to leave the resort immediately, as I fear for my safety.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, please Severus, the Lupins aren’t going anywhere,” Slughorn says, rolling his eyes. “Sounds to me like you were harassing an innocent girl and Mr. Lupin here stepped in to defend her honor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s hardly innocent,” Sev quips. “She’s knocked up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my,” Remus’s mother says, putting her hand over her mouth. His father and Slughorn look just as shocked, and Remus wishes he could sock Sev a second time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you knew this?” Slughorn asks Sev. “You knew she was pregnant?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes sir. I caught her throwing up in one of the bathrooms. I meant to tell you sooner, but—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You knew she was pregnant and you pulled her down the steps? You could have seriously hurt her!” Slughorn exclaims.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Severus, but I’m going to have to let you go. I can’t have that kind of behavior here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But James Potter—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>, please. Go back to your cabin and pack your things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sev’s chair scrapes against the linoleum floor angrily as he stands, then he stomps out of Slughorn’s office, slamming the door behind him. An awkward moment of silence passes, then Slughorn clears his throat. “I’m so sorry you had to witness all of that,” he says to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The girl—” his mother starts, “she’s okay? And her baby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes,” Slughorn says, nodding. “As far as I know it’s only a sprained ankle. Unfortunately though, that means my dance instructor can no longer dance.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Remus rushes down the curved path by the lake toward the employee cabins, his tennis shoes hitting the pavement at full speed, and after asking a boy pulling a rowboat up onto the shore for directions, he hurries off again to Lily’s cabin to check on her—he hasn’t seen her since yesterday afternoon after leaving her with the nurse to run off and find James, and amid all the commotion he thought it best to give the couple their space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knocks on the cabin door, surprised to see Sirius on the other side as it creaks open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Sirius greets him, seemingly assessing Remus’s worthiness as he looks him up and down. “It’s Moony, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um. Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard you cleaned Sev’s clock pretty good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice job. He deserved it. Wouldn’t have thought you’d have in ya.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well,” Remus says, shrugging. “It’s hard to miss a nose that huge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius smiles at that, a genuine smile, before bursting out into laughter. His teeth are beautiful and even, and his almond-shaped eyes crinkle up at the corners—he’s so strikingly handsome, like a beautiful picture from a magazine come to life, and Remus vows to keep this vision in his memory for as long as he lives.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s so funny?” Remus can hear Lily ask from inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your knight in shining linen is here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well let ‘im in, Sirius!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius steps aside, holding the door open as Remus enters. Remus tries not to look at him and focuses his attention on Lily, who’s lying on her bed with her ankle wrapped in an elastic bandage and propped up on a pillow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you?” he asks her, pulling up a chair from the rickety little dinette beneath the window to sit beside her bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sprained ankle,” she says with a sigh. “It’ll be fine in about six weeks, but I’m essentially out of a job now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And she can’t do the talent show at Diagon,” Sirius pipes up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Lily agrees. “So there goes that money.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t someone else fill in?” Remus asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah. Dorcas works, she doesn’t have time to learn the routine. ‘nd Marlene is already fillin’ in for me to teach my classes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There has to be someone who can do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, there isn’t.” Lily shrugs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanna do it?” Sirius asks him, scoffing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who, me?” Remus asks, raising his eyebrows. “I can’t even merengue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s… actually not a horrible idea…” Lily trails off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>joke</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sirius snaps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His cha-cha is pretty good, though,” Lily says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two guys dancing the mambo? It’s the dumbest idea I ever heard in my life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You dance with guys all the time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>in private</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” he corrects her. “Besides, he barely even knows what he’s doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re an amazing dancer, Sirius, you can lead anyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teach me the routine,” Remus says, looking up at Sirius. “They need the money now more than ever, and they’ve both been so nice to me. Even if we don’t win, it’s the least I can do to help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius puts his hands on the back of his head, cursing under his breath as he paces around the tiny room. “This is going to be a disaster,” he says, then looks back to Remus. “Fine. Meet me in Cabin D tomorrow at 2 PM sharp.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He isn’t sure why he volunteered to do this. He wants to say it’s solely to help Lily and James and do a good deed, but there’s a little niggling feeling that he’s also selfishly doing this as some kind of attempt to impress Sirius. Of course, it’ll all be for naught. He can’t dance. He’s perpetually self-sabotaging at the best of times, and this is, one hundred percent, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst</span>
  </em>
  <span> of times. This also isn’t to mention that Sirius is undoubtedly out of his league by leaps and bounds. In no lifetime would a man like Sirius—unfathomably good looking, insanely talented, wildly cool—ever look twice at him if he didn’t have to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But something inside tells him he should try nevertheless, and so, try he will.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cabin D, as it turns out, is a meeting room of sorts. It’s large and mostly bare except for a few card tables and chairs that easily fold up and tuck away into the little storage closet, leaving plenty of empty space on the slick wooden floor. There are several windows around the room, but all of the blinds have been drawn down for privacy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he arrives, Sirius explains to him that this is where he and Lily hold their private lessons, and that many of the women who stay at the resort pay to be alone with him under the pretense of wanting to dance. Sirius says he’s happy to take the extra cash, that he needs it just like everyone else that works here, but he doesn’t specify whether or not he indulges these women in their fantasies. Remus can’t help the pang of jealousy that springs forth as he wonders if any of them succeeded. At the same time, he can’t blame them for trying. He frowns a little, his nervous fingers tugging on the hem of his shirt, and prays that Sirius can’t read his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His traitorous thoughts are thankfully interrupted when Sirius flips on the turntable and music begins to fill the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much dance experience do you have?” Sirius asks him as he combs his hair back with his fingers and secures it with a black elastic. Remus mentally scolds himself for staring too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None,” Remus admits, looking away from him. “I’ve done a few group lessons with Lily, but that’s all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius sighs but nods. “Alright, then we’ll start with the basics. Lily said you can cha-cha, so show me your cha-cha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He steps toward Remus with his hands outstretched, and Remus walks forward to put his hands into Sirius’s open ones. Sirius snickers, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here,” he says. “Put your left hand on my shoulder. Right hand stays in mine. I’m going to lead you with this hand, so pay attention to it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you get to lead?” Remus asks, placing his hand on Sirius’s arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you don’t know how. Also because you’re taking Lily’s place. Hold onto me tighter and straighten your arms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” Remus concedes and grips Sirius’s bicep. He can feel the firm muscles tighten beneath his hand, while Sirius’s right hand has moved down to press against the small of his back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Push me,” Sirius commands. He lifts his chin defiantly like it’s a dare, but when Remus pushes against his body with his hands he finds he can’t even budge the larger man. “This is our frame. Don’t break it. Keep your arms up and straight. Alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t let me push you,” Sirius says as he easily moves Remus’s arms back. “I shouldn’t be able to push you like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re bigger than me!” Remus says defensively, furrowing his brow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re bigger than Lily, but I can’t budge her. Come on, try again.” Remus grumbles and straightens his arms, locking them with Sirius’s. Sirius pushes and pulls against him again, nodding his head in approval. “Better,” he says. “We’ll improve on that. Now let’s walk through the footwork.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knows the basics—the starting rock steps to change his weight and the cha-cha shuffle to the side—and although Lily taught him to lead, he has to flip it around now and do the mirror opposite. Sirius guides him easily, but Remus still fumbles his footing several times, embarrassingly stepping on Sirius’s toes. Sirius curses, Remus apologizes, and after repeating this back and forth approximately a dozen times, Remus thinks he’s finally beginning to get it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Move your hips more,” Sirius instructs him as his hands slip down to rest just below Remus’s waist. “Make it flirty. The suggestion of sex should be right </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he says, gently squeezing Remus’s hips with his large hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Caught off guard, Remus jerks his arms away from Sirius, causing Sirius to step on </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> toes this time. Remus hisses and stumbles away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Sirius asks in bewilderment. “What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You! You want me to…to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Have you never had sex?” Sirius asks him, raising his dark eyebrows in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um,” Remus responds, blushing furiously. “I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Sirius says, blinking at him. “Okay. I mean. That’s alright. I’ll teach you how.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How to have sex?” Remus blurts out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hears what he’s said echoing over and over in his head like it’s mocking him. He’s too embarrassed by it to look up at Sirius again and, rather than say anything else to try and clarify his slip of the tongue, he decides that staring blankly at the wall and willing a storm into existence so that lighting can strike him down is a rather nice alternative and more likely than him ever voluntarily continuing with this unfortunate conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Sirius laughs—it starts as a quiet snicker through his nose and as Remus feels his blush grow hotter and redder, the laugh gains traction and grows louder and before he realizes it, Sirius is cackling and guffawing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What!” Remus shouts more than he asks. “What’s so funny?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You thought—” Sirius starts, but lets out a terrible wheeze as he looks at Remus’s expression. “I meant that I’ll teach you the </span>
  <em>
    <span>moves</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he explains, still laughing as he reaches up to brush a tear from his eye. “You really thought—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we please forget it?” Remus begs him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Until next time it comes up anyway. And by that I mean the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dancing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not my—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Sirius!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” Sirius says, still chuckling. “I’ll stop. Honest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius reaches out his hands again, waiting for Remus to come to him himself. Remus hesitates, casting a doubtful glare in Sirius’s direction, but he goes to him anyway, positioning himself within the space of Sirius’s arms, clasping his left hand, and they fall into step once more. After only a few more stumbles Remus catches on again, and Sirius leads him into a seemingly effortless cha-cha around the room, spinning and twisting like he’s never done before, breaking a sweat beneath the warm fluorescent lights of the cabin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lesson seems to drag on for hours although when Sirius looks at his watch and announces that they should stop and meet up again tomorrow, it’s only 3:30. It’s only been an hour and a half and Remus is panting, his feet hurt, his legs feel like jelly, and he’s ready to go back to his cabin and settle in for a nap.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So where’d you learn how to dance like this anyway?” Remus asks Sirius a few days later. They’re in Cabin D again, and they’ve officially moved on from the cha-cha to the mambo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My uncle Alphard taught me back in Cuba,” Sirius says, raising his arm and leading Remus into a turn. “I left home at sixteen and went to stay with him. He was a professional ballroom dancer, and watching him dance just made me want to try it. He was much more elegant than I am, though, but he had </span>
  <em>
    <span>decades</span>
  </em>
  <span> in his shoes before he passed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” Remus says. “Why’d you leave home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh.” Sirius shrugs. “Issues with my parents. They didn’t agree with my lifestyle and they’re pro-Castro.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your lifestyle?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Sirius responds, but dodges the question. “Anyway, I left. But I didn’t have anywhere to go after Alphard died, so I took what money he left me in his will and came to America. I got out in ‘59, right at the beginning of the Revolution. Did odd jobs wherever I could get hired not knowing much English. Traveled all around the country starting in Florida. Eventually I ended up here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your English is really good. I like your accent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius looks down at him, granting him a little smile. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus feels himself blushing again, and he’s really beginning to hate that he can’t check his emotions around Sirius. “So what do you want to do after this?” he asks, quickly changing the subject.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haven’t really thought that far ahead, to be honest. I just wanna get my little brother away from my parents and bring him here. Regulus. That’s what I’m saving up for. Gotta find us a place and all of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiles. He never would’ve guessed that Sirius was such a complex person or that he’d been through so much, and the admiration Remus already feels for this man suddenly grows much, much larger and shapes itself into something different inside his chest. It makes his heart swell with delight and crack open down the center, wanting to pull Sirius inside just as Sirius slips an arm around his waist to hold onto him tightly and dip him down low. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His arm goes up above his head and into a pose that he hopes looks elegant enough though it’s only his second time trying this particular move, and Sirius’s free hand reaches up to touch Remus’s cheek, his fingers moving lightly over his neck and shoulder and chest and further down his body to his hip. They lock eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s only the routine,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he knows, and he repeats this over and over in his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s nothing. It means nothing. Let it go.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s heart is pounding, his tongue darts out to wet his lips, and he’s certain that Sirius’s eyes flicker down to his mouth. Before he can say anything though, if he was even going to at all, Sirius pulls him onto his feet and spins him again before bringing him back into a locked frame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus sighs, releasing the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. It’s rather difficult to not look directly at the face of the person you’re dancing with, but Remus tries nevertheless, fixating on a point of nothing just over Sirius’s shoulder as his feet continue moving. Sirius spins him out again and when they come back together, their eyes find one another’s once more. Remus feels like he should speak, that he should say something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but Sirius beats him to the punch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to practice the lift next,” he says as the song on the turntable fades out and the opening notes of the next one begins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The lift?” Remus questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The lift. It’s the big climax of the routine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Climax?” he repeats quietly, barely able to even say the word without feeling embarrassed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. The climax is the most significant moment of the dance. We’ll start on it tomorrow,” he says and steps away from Remus, giving him a friendly pat on the back before stepping over to turn off the music.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus sighs again. He’s certain he will never know where he stands with this man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For their next practice session, Sirius drives him down a bumpy dirt road in his rusted out Chevy Bel Air to a field approximately ten minutes away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s nothing here but open space and wildflowers beneath a swath of lavender sky and, wanting to feel the cool grass beneath his feet, Remus toes his shoes and socks off, leaving them beside his cardigan near a cluster of white dandelions that have gone to seed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius said he wanted to have the extra space and the soft landing for when they inevitably topple over practicing this mysterious lift, but Remus can’t help but feel the magic and romance that consumes a place like this. To see Sirius amid the colorful flowers is like seeing something out of a hazy daydream—his hardened edges and sharp lines are softer somehow, his long hair blows prettily in the warm summer breeze, and Remus wants to keep him, keep this moment, like a postcard taped inside the scrapbook of his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Sirius starts, following Remus’s lead for a change as he kicks his tattered black Chuck Taylors off. “I want you to stay where you are, and when I say to, run to me and jump up when I grab onto your waist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Remus agrees and nods his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius backs up from him a bit, about a stage’s length away, then beckons Remus forward with his hands. Remus runs a few steps but slows before his jump, only managing a weak hop with Sirius’s hands on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again,” Sirius demands. “This time don’t slow down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Remus says, then turns and trots back to his starting position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tries again, running toward Sirius through the already trampled flowers, then jumps up when he feels Sirius grip his waist. He’s overshot it this time though, and is grateful Sirius brought them here when he somehow manages to knock the larger man backwards. Sirius stumbles and falls on his back, and Remus collapses down on top of him unable to stop his giddy laughter. Sirius narrows his eyes at him like he’s angry, but the smile he’s trying and failing to hold back gives him away and only causes Remus to laugh even harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they keep at it—Remus manages to knock him over three more times, causing them to tumble carelessly over one another before Sirius gives up altogether and nixes the running start. Now, he simply tries to get Remus to hold onto his shoulders and jump high enough so that he can be lifted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just bend your knees,” Sirius keeps repeating, and no matter how much Remus actually bends his knees, it’s never quite right, and alas—they still can’t manage it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The problem is you don’t trust me,” Sirius insists. “If you don’t trust me to not hurt you, you’re gonna end up hurting me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Remus says, frowning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh don’t pout.” Sirius laughs and shoves Remus’s shoulder playfully. “Actually, I have an idea,” he says and swoops down to pick up his shoes. “Follow me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus watches him curiously for a moment as Sirius turns and walks away, then picks up his own shoes and his cardigan and hurries to catch up with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” Remus asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a small lake this way. Best place to practice lifts is in the water—there’s no fear of getting hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s eyebrows shoot up, but he continues following him regardless, certain at this point that he’d happily follow Sirius anywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they get to the lake, Sirius wastes no time dropping his shoes onto the muddy shore and pulling his white t-shirt over his head. He starts to tie up his hair with an elastic and Remus needs a moment to breathe—to watch the muscles in Sirius’s back and arms flex in enamored silence—but he quickly looks away with his eyes wide when Sirius’s hands move down to the fly of his blue jeans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not getting naked!” Remus shouts over to him, his eyes still averted though he can hear splashing as Sirius wades into the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not naked, you pervert!” Sirius hollers back. “I’ve got my underwear on!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This, of course, does nothing to appease Remus, who cautiously turns his head back toward the lake. Sirius is waist-deep in the water and his clothes are in a crumpled heap on a large rock, and Remus groans quietly as he drops his sweater there and begins to unbutton his shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite finally doffing his clothes and making his way to join Sirius in the lake, Remus is feeling rather negatively about his thin, freckled body and moves to cover his bare torso by crossing his arms over his chest as he dips his toes into the water. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s plenty warm, just get your butt over here!” Sirius yells out, oblivious to Remus’s self-consciousness. But he also doesn’t say anything, doesn’t poke fun like his peers had in the past, he only looks at Remus with kindness and waits for him to join him in the middle of the lake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus makes the plunge and bends his knees to dip down into the water, and once he’s submerged from his neck down, starts to swim out toward Sirius.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Sirius says again, placing his hands once more on Remus’s waist. “Put your hands on my shoulders and jump. I’ll lift you up. Trust me. On three.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nods and again rests his hands on Sirius’s broad shoulders, bare and wet this time. He closes his eyes, feels Sirius squeeze him gently, causing him to tingle all over, and on the count of three he jumps and Sirius lifts him straight up out of the water, over his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s flying—he feels light and graceful and like something truly beautiful despite his body being on full display, and he laughs out loud as he opens his eyes. He tilts his chin down to find Sirius’s intense gaze already on him, smirking up at him proudly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing it!” Remus shouts out gleefully and flails his arms, but Sirius’s eyes go wide and he begins to tip backwards and Remus starts falling forward. Remus lets out one final shriek before hitting the water face first and plunging beneath the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He comes up kicking and splashing as he rights himself, and spits out a mouthful of lake water as he sputters in disgust. Sirius cackles loudly, but his laughter is met with a solid splash of water to his face from Remus, who simply smiles back at him defiantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re gonna get it now,” Sirius says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus can only laugh again as he swims away and Sirius begins to chase him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I can’t believe it’s tonight,” Remus says forlornly, taking the bag of clothing he’ll be wearing in the show from Sirius. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s been dancing himself crazy for the past two weeks—his feet and legs are sore but his moves are solid, and whether they win tonight or not, he’s happy to have stepped out of his comfort zone and at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Spending this time with Sirius and getting to know him has been well worth all of the hard work. He knows he’s come a long way—not only with his dancing, but with Sirius too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius—who had seemed so stubborn and prickly at the beginning of all of this—has softened to him far more than Remus had ever thought was possible. They tease one another and laugh together, and Remus is having so much unexpected fun that he never wants this summer to end. With the talent show through, their time together will surely come to an end as well, but he’d gone into this knowing well enough that it was simply to help Lily and James—and nothing more than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make sure everything fits okay,” Sirius says. “I think I got pretty close to your size, but if not, I can look around for another set. It’s just a waitstaff uniform, but it’ll look good if we match.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nods. “What time does this thing end? I don’t want to miss dinner and have my parents worried about where I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Diagon Resort isn’t far. You can change at Lily’s before we leave and in the car on the way back, and we should have plenty of time before your parents go to dinner,” Sirius explains. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Sounds good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See ya later, Moony,” Sirius says with a smile, and reaches up to ruffle Remus’s curls. Remus swats him away while laughing and turns to head back to the guests’ cabins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s just turning around a corner when he spots Peter, the waiter, exiting the cabin beside his own with a serving tray. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Peter!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter jumps with alarm, dropping the tray onto the path with a loud clatter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Remus says, placing his bag on the path and kneeling down to help Peter clean up the mess. An open wallet lies face-up on the ground and Remus immediately recognizes the picture on the photo ID as Mr. MacDonald and hands it back to Peter. “I saw him with his family by the pool not that long ago, if you’re looking for him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, thanks,” Peter says, folding the wallet back up and stuffing it into his coat pocket before picking up the tray and rising to his feet. “I’ll do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus gives him a wave and trots up the steps to his cabin to try on the clothes for tonight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tells his parents that he’s going to visit with Lily and that he’ll be back for dinner. Technically it’s not a lie, as he </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> on his way to Lily’s cabin—he’s only left out the important middle part about sneaking off to another resort to do a risqué dance with another man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James answers the door after Remus knocks and waves him inside. Lily’s sitting on her bed, beaming as she finishes off a slice of blueberry pie when he enters with his bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonight’s your big night!” she says gleefully. “Are ya nervous?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Completely, yes,” Remus admits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, for what it’s worth, Sirius seems pretty confident in your dancing ability,” James offers, patting his shoulder as he takes Lily’s plate and fork and takes them to the little kitchenette.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm,” Lily agrees and lifts her arms to form a mock dance frame where she sits. “Just remember—chin up, shoulders back, keep your frame locked, stay on your toes, ‘nd let </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> lead </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” he says, releasing a nervous sigh. “Do you mind if I get ready here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, go ahead,” she nods and points him toward the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clutching onto his bag, Remus closes the bathroom door behind him and drops it on top of the toilet’s lid. He already tried everything on earlier and it all fit well enough, and he was surprised that Sirius had actually guessed his sizing so closely, although maybe it’s not that crazy—he has had his hands on Remus’s waist for weeks now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulls his clothes off, puts the white button-down on over his undershirt, pulls the black slacks up, and secures them with a belt. There’s a skinny black tie and a black dinner jacket as well to finish the look, and a pair of shiny black dance shoes—though they look brand new and the suede sole is unworn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he’s dressed, he combs his hair and pomades his curls down, then looks into the full-length mirror to assess himself. He straightens his tie and smoothes out the wrinkles, and he thinks to himself that he might even pass for being handsome tonight. He stuffs his plain clothes back into the bag, then takes a deep breath and steps out of the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily and James both give him a wide smile as he enters the main room, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ooh</span>
  </em>
  <span>-ing and </span>
  <em>
    <span>ahh</span>
  </em>
  <span>-ing at how nicely he’s cleaned up. Lily beckons him over to sit beside her on the bed, so he goes to her and she takes his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The shoes fit okay?” she asks him and Remus nods. “Me, Jimmy, and Sirius all pitched in for them. Just a little thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Well thank you very much,” he says, looking down at his new shoes with a grin. “They’re beautiful. You didn’t have to do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you didn’t have to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she counters. “Thank you for this, Moony. Jimmy ‘nd I both appreciate what you’re doin’ for us. We want ya to know there’s no hard feelings if you don’t win, okay? I’m just glad to see you havin’ so much fun. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do somethin’ or that you can’t have what you want. You can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A knock at the door interrupts their moment, but they all know who it is. James opens the door as Remus rises from the bed, and Sirius steps in looking as gorgeous as ever in the same waitstaff uniform. His hair is slicked back into a low ponytail and he’s got a pretty red rose pinned to his jacket pocket, and he smiles at Remus brightly, holding out his hand to him. Remus takes it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Sirius says, squeezing his hand. “I brought you something.” He reaches into his pocket and reveals another red rose, then releases Remus’s hand to pin it securely to his jacket. “There,” he says. “Now we match.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a wave goodbye and several </span>
  <em>
    <span>good luck</span>
  </em>
  <span>s hollered after them, Remus and Sirius rush off toward Sirius’s car. Remus throws his bag in the backseat and sits up front, tapping his fingers nervously on his thighs as Sirius drives.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re gonna do great,” Sirius tells him, and Remus looks up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” he says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius is concentrating on the gravelly road as they both bump and bounce in their seats, so he doesn’t look back at Remus, but Remus smiles anyway. He was so certain that Sirius loathed him when they first agreed to do this together, but Sirius has done just as Lily said he would—he’s gone from closed off and private to telling Remus his dreams and fears; from stone-faced scowls to smiling constantly in his presence; from mean-spirited mocking to flirtatious teasing—and though Remus is still unsure what this is that they’re doing, he cannot deny that there are true feelings here, and that he genuinely cares for this man beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrive at Diagon, they hurry inside and Sirius leaves Remus backstage for a moment while he checks in with the emcee to give him their music and remove Lily’s name from the list. They sit and wait patiently through the other performers—a few singers, another pair of dancers, a crappy magic act—and when they’re finally called up (as </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sirius Black and his partner, Moony</span>
  </em>
  <span>) Remus’s stomach does a rather uncomfortable flip-flop as they make their way to the stage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He has the routine down. He knows he can do it—they’ve nailed the entire thing several times during their practices—but there was something different about it being just the two of them together. Alone with Sirius, Remus feels free to be himself without judgement, but here on the stage in front of a red velvet curtain with the bright lights shining down upon him, he can see the members of the audience leaning in toward one another, can hear their murmurings about two men up there together, and he’s rocketed back into the body of that insecure boy he was at the beginning of the summer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Sirius looks at him softly and takes him into his arms, and when the music starts, he leads Remus into their mambo easily, as if no one else is there. They glide together effortlessly as usual, pulling off elegant spins and daring drops and flirty twirls, and Remus wants to laugh with how giddy and high he’s feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looks out into the crowd once during a dip, only for a split-second, and happens to spot both Sev and Peter the waiter toward the back. It throws Remus off, he fudges his footing, and Sirius narrows his eyes at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ignore them, Moony,” Sirius whispers to him before spinning him out across the stage, his cue that it’s time for the lift. Remus finds his position and takes a deep breath, then hurries across the stage to Sirius, and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He freezes up right before he leaps. He doesn’t bend his legs or jump high enough, and Sirius only manages to awkwardly pick him up by his waist and set him right back down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They finish up the routine stiffly. A few more spins and one final dip are bungled together haphazardly, and although the audience applauds politely when it’s over, Remus knows he’s ruined the win for them. It comes as no surprise later when the winner (one of the singers) is announced, and Sirius says nothing but Remus knows he’s disappointed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really sorry,” Remus says as they head back to the car. “I saw Sev and Peter and couldn’t shake the thought that they were up to something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I saw them too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I messed it up. God, I’m so sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony, it’s fine,” Sirius says and unlocks the car. “You still did real good. You worked hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess so.” Remus sighs and hops into the backseat with his bag to change his clothes on the way back to Hogsmeade. Sirius starts the car as Remus begins pulling off his jacket and slipping his tie from around his neck. He’s unbuttoning his shirt and shimmying out of his pants when he glances up to catch Sirius’s eye in the rearview mirror, but Sirius quickly looks back to the road ahead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiles to himself—despite fudging the dance, Sirius isn’t angry with him or disappointed at all. He’s not pushing him away. He still likes Remus, and selfishly, more than anything else, Remus had wanted Sirius to like him, to respect him, to maybe even feel something more than friendliness toward him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrive back at Hogsmeade, Sirius parks the car and he opens the back door for Remus to hop out with his bag in hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were amazing tonight,” Sirius says softly, leaning against his car beneath the dim light of a single flickering lamp post. He looks so handsome like this, still in his suit with his tie undone and his hair all mussed. Remus stops to lean beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could’ve been better,” he responds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care.” Sirius shrugs and reaches up, brushing the high of Remus’s cheekbone lightly with the pad of his thumb, while his fingers rest against the curve of his neck. Remus looks up at him, into his pretty grey eyes, and when Sirius begins to lean forward, his eyes flicker down to Sirius’s lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s his first kiss, and it’s softer than anything he’d imagined it’d be like and over much too soon, but he smiles nevertheless, biting his bottom lip when they pull away from one another. Sirius laughs nervously through his nose and Remus can’t help but laugh along with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you tomorrow?” Sirius asks, as if he needs the reassurance that he hasn’t crossed a line. Remus nods.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” he says simply, then leans in again to place another light kiss on the corner of Sirius’s mouth before turning and heading back to his cabin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Moony, I need you to be honest with us,” his father says as soon as Remus enters the cabin. He and his mother are sitting side by side on their bed looking rather serious, so Remus closes the door behind him and leans against it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where have you been tonight? Who were you with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I—” Remus starts nervously. He doesn’t want to lie to his parents, he never has before. “I was with one of the dance instructors. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of the waiters here said he saw you at another resort,” his mother says. “He said you were doing some sort of… risqué dance with another man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tiptoe around it, Hope,” his father says sharply, then turns back to him. “Remus, are you a homosexual?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus freezes and swallows the uncomfortable lump that has formed in his throat. His father hasn’t called him </span>
  <em>
    <span>Remus</span>
  </em>
  <span> since being scolded as a child. He never thought he’d be having this conversation with his parents. He’s not ready for it. Before this summer, before meeting Sirius, Remus had planned to keep this part of who he is from them, from everyone, content to hold his secret close until he’s ready to share on his own terms, if ever. But now that has been taken from him, because of Peter or Sev or both of them, and he hates them for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he responds. “And it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> risqué.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damnit, Moony!” his father scowls, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Have you and this… this man—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have we </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you... had sex with him?” his mother asks softly, seemingly slightly more comfortable with this embarrassing conversation than his father is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Regardless, this ends now. I won’t have some older man taking advantage of my son,” his father says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He hasn’t! We’re friends, and he’s only three years older!” Remus protests. “I was filling in for Lily because of her ankle!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s done, Moony,” his father repeats. “Now get changed. We’re going to dinner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus scowls in the corner all throughout dinner. He’s completely lost his appetite and only picks at his food. His father ignores his presence completely and his mother looks sadly disappointed, and Remus can do nothing but feel embarrassed and angry as he watches Peter wait tables across the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After dinner, the family walks back to the cabin in silence. They brush their teeth in silence and get ready for bed in silence, and Remus lies in his bed for a long time, wide awake and irritable. It isn’t until he hears his father’s snores from the other bed that he rolls out from beneath the duvet and slips his tennis shoes on, then leaves quietly out of the front door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hurries off to the other side of the lake to the employees’ cabins, and though he’s never been to Sirius’s cabin before, he knows it’s only two down from Lily’s. He hops up the steps and knocks on the door, pacing back and forth on the little stoop as he waits for Sirius, praying that he’s in for the night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door creaks open and Sirius stands before him wearing nothing but his blue jeans and a concerned look on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I come in?” Remus asks him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course,” Sirius says, and steps aside to let Remus enter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius’s cabin is much like Lily’s—it’s small and bare and looks more like a storage shed than a habitable room, lit only by a single lamp beside the little twin bed against the far wall. There’s a turntable beneath the front window playing a slow tune and a single chair stacked high with records sits beside it. It’s all very Sirius, and Remus immediately loves the quiet, reserved charm of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus blinks away from the turntable and looks up at Sirius. He’s not sure where to even begin, so he cuts right to the chase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sev or Peter. One of them or both, I don’t know. They told my parents about us. I had to tell them that I’m—that I’m gay,” he says, clenching his fists. “They’ve forbidden me from seeing you. But I don’t care, I had to. I had to come see you, because what if I never get to again? What if this is my last chance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let’s calm down,” Sirius says and goes to him, wrapping him up in his arms. Remus presses his face against Sirius’s bare chest, his arms folded up in front of him as if to keep his traitorous heart from thumping any harder and shattering upon the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Remus says, sniffling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are so brave for doing that. For telling your parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m an </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span> for telling them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not,” Sirius insists, nuzzling into his curls. “They’re good people. They’re angry now but they still love you, they still care about you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I let them down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t help who you are. You’re still you. You’re strong and good and want to help everyone. You’re not scared of anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m scared of </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sirius!” Remus hollers, pulling away from him and throwing his hands up angrily. “I’m scared of my parents hating me if they know who I really am. I’m scared of holding my secrets inside for so long that I combust and go crazy. I’m scared of giving my heart away to the first person I’ve ever been this close to and never seeing him again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Sirius says calmly. “I’m not anything to get worked up over. I’m no one. I’m nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re everything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not. You’ll find someone else, okay? Someone who deserves you. Someone who doesn’t have to live in a shoebox or sleep with married women just to be able to eat. You… you're staying at this resort. You’re going off to college to do great things and help people who need you. Your father is a doctor. We’re from two different worlds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you honestly believe that, then you haven’t been paying attention,” Remus says, pushing his hands against Sirius’s chest. “My family was invited here by Mr. Slughorn, I’m going to college with a full scholarship, otherwise I wouldn’t be going at all, and my father is a physician in Peoria. It’s a tiny, nothing town. We’re not as well off as you think!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony,” Sirius says and catches him by the wrists. “It’s okay. Calm down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t! I just want to have a chance to be happy without anyone telling me what I can and can’t do. Why can’t I make my own decisions?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius pulls him closer and wraps his arm around Remus again, taking Remus’s right hand into his left. “You can,” he whispers. “Come. Dance with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leads Remus into a slow sway, pressing ever closer. Remus sighs and closes his eyes, pulling his hand from Sirius’s to drape his forearms over his shoulders. He’s immediately feeling calmer, less stressed, and his mind is clear of his worries. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one hand moving down to rest against the small of Remus’s back, Sirius brings his other hand up to touch his cheek, to caress the delicate freckled skin beneath his eye with a gentle thumb, and Remus can’t help but lean into the touch, to turn his head and kiss the middle of Sirius’s palm, his wrist, his fingers. He gazes up at Sirius then, staring into his soulful grey eyes and hopefully conveying everything he wants and needs with a single look of longing because he can’t say it—he’s too embarrassed to say it—he simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>craves</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>yearns</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he wants to do this here tonight with this man whom he’s come to care about so fiercely. If he doesn’t leap now, he figures he never will, so he clings to Sirius and rolls his hips forward, and Sirius does it too, repeatedly, to the beat of the music in the background, in perfect sync with one another. Sirius slips his hands down to cup Remus’s ass, his mouth pressing tingling kisses up the length of his sensitive neck, their undeniable desperation for one another hard between their bodies, and Remus moans quietly in subdued pleasure. It’s a whimper, a plea for more, an invitation to continue. He grips onto Sirius’s broad shoulders and when Sirius breathes into his ear, he finally asks him—“Moony, what’s your real name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus,” he responds. “My name is Remus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus,” Sirius repeats, and he says it over and over as if getting used to the feeling of it inside his mouth. “Remus. Remus. Remus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I might love you,” Sirius says to him and touches his cheek again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I love you,” Remus admits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I take you to bed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God. Yes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>So Sirius does. He scoops Remus up into his arms and takes him to his bed, and it creaks as he sets Remus down carefully upon it and moves to lie between his legs. Remus smiles up at him, reaching to pull him closer, and Sirius kisses him again. Remus’s mouth opens to him, their tongues brush against one another, and Remus is sure he’s dying or already dead because it’s too good, too wonderful, too surreal to be anything of this world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands are on Remus’s legs and hips and they sneak up beneath his shirt and tickle the soft skin hidden away there before slipping back out and moving to unbutton it carefully. Remus sits up and Sirius pushes the shirt off of Remus’s shoulders, revealing his bare chest and arms, and makes a point to kiss every inch of flesh that is exposed to him, from his collarbone to his navel. His lips move down Remus’s chest and stomach and Sirius pauses here to unbutton Remus’s shorts. Remus wiggles out of them along with his underwear, realizing that he’d usually be feeling ridiculously self conscious, but the way Sirius looks at him makes him feel free and confident and beautiful. It makes him feel safe and wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it about you,” Sirius breathes, his hand skimming down the length of Remus’s side to his thigh, “that makes me want to do the stupidest things? That makes me want to risk everything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m nothing special,” Remus says. Sirius only laughs quietly, shaking his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re everything,” he responds, repeating the words that Remus had said in a rough whisper, and dips down to kiss Remus again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From there, everything sort of fades away. All around Remus, the colors and the sounds mingle and blur together. The only thing he sees, the only thing he feels, is Sirius—his warm, deft hands on Remus’s naked skin, his nimble fingers making Remus tremble and moan, his mouth working its way down Remus’s body, between his legs, and lighting his whole world on fire. Remus never dreamed it could be like this, that he could have anything this precious or be this happy, or that anyone would be able to make him come alive like Sirius has, and yet here he is, lying beneath a beautiful man who whispers lovely things in his ear while rocking into him slowly and deeply. Sirius is so gentle and so caring, but he makes love like he dances, taking charge like a true teacher and leading Remus through precise movements and elegant poses that make him not only look good but </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> amazing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus truly never wants this summer to end, never wants to leave the comfort of Sirius’s strong arms, so he falls asleep there, sweaty yet content in Sirius’s cabin, with his heart soaring and his legs tangled up beneath the sheets with the man he loves.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Don’t go,” Sirius grumbles, stretching one arm out as Remus slides from the bed and pulls his shorts back on. The hazy morning light filtering through the windows tells Remus it’s nearly time for breakfast, and he’d rather be back in his cabin before his parents wake up and start asking questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiles and places one knee on the mattress as he leans down to press a soft kiss to Sirius’s lips. “Sorry,” he says and pulls back again to pick his shirt up from the dusty floor. “I really should get going. I’ll be back later, though. If you’d like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’d like.” Sirius smirks and leans his weight on one elbow, staring up at Remus from the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus wills himself to look away while he slips his shirt back on and buttons it up, or else he’ll easily give in and lie here with Sirius all day. He steps into his tennis shoes and stupidly glances over his shoulder to the glorious view of Sirius, with his long hair down and wild and looking like a magnificent lion, tucking himself into his jeans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God,” he says, then laughs and heads to the door. Sirius follows, resting his hand on the doorknob as he leans down to give Remus one last parting kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get yourself into trouble,” Sirius whispers against his lips and reaches up to tuck a stray curl behind Remus’s ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t,” Remus promises. Regretfully, he slips away from Sirius and hurries down the steps, following the long curving path back to Cabin 20.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cabin is empty when Remus arrives, so he quickly changes his clothes and fixes his mussed hair, then skips off to the dining hall. He spots his parents at their usual table already having their breakfast and coffee, so he quietly pulls up a chair and joins them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning,” he says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Moony,” his mother says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last conversation he had with his parents didn’t go well at all, and he’s hoping they can simply rush past it and move on, forget it, and never speak of it again. Thankfully, his mother seems perfectly content to let everything slide. His father, however, has very clearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> forgotten, and it’s evident he’s still holding onto his childish grudge when he doesn’t even look up to acknowledge his son, simply sips his coffee then asks, “And where have </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> been?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I went for a walk,” Remus responds, thinking quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” his father says flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lyall…” his mother scolds, but his father interrupts her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” he says, “so you both should take today to pack up and say your goodbyes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Why?!” Remus asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know well enough why,” his father snaps, finally looking up at him. “You’re sneaking around. You’re lying to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to stop being gay just because we go home early.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lyall,” his mother says again, more firmly this time. “I don’t want to leave two days early. I’m having fun and there’s still so much to do!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve made up my mind, Hope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then maybe you should leave without us!” Remus hollers. He pushes away from the table, making his chair scrape loudly on the wooden floor, then stomps out of the hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t really know where he’s going when he starts walking, he only knows he doesn’t want to be in the same room as his parents. He wants to scream, wants to beat his fists against something or someone, and his own overwhelming anger surprises him. Back home, he’s known for keeping calm and quiet and remaining unassuming—</span>
  <em>
    <span>Moony</span>
  </em>
  <span> could never do wrong—and now he realizes how much he actually loathes that fake persona he’s carefully crafted. Now, he simply wants to be free. He wants to get into mischief and cause trouble for people who deserve it and dance with men as he pleases. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walks along the path through the garden, passes the gazebo, and continues along the lake until he’s on the other side of the resort and standing in front of Sirius’s cabin again. He knocks, but there’s no answer—he knows Sirius has started his lessons for the day—so he hops over to Lily’s cabin and tries her place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it?” he hears her holler from inside after he knocks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on in, then! Door’s unlocked!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He enters the cabin and shuts the door, and when he sees Lily sitting there on her bed with her tiny bandaged ankle and her sweet smile, he can’t help but feel calmer. He simply sits down beside her on the bed and sighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Soooo,” Lily says. “How’d it go last night?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius didn’t tell you?” he asks, turning to look at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haven’t seen him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t win. I messed it up. I’m so sorry, Lily.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no. But you were doing so well!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw Sev and Peter in the audience and froze. Completely fudged the lift.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay,” she says, sliding an arm around his shoulders. “If you want, there’s the Hogsmeade talent show, too. You’d have to do a solo act though, since Sirius is an employee.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Remus responds. “My father wants to leave early. Sev and Peter told my parents everything and now they hate me because I’m gay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure your parents don’t hate you, Moony,” Lily tries to reassure him. “They both seem real nice. And it's totally okay that you didn’t win. I’m not upset about it or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you’re not,” he says. “You’re too good to me. All of you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re friends,” she says and shrugs. “You were doing something nice to help me. And it wasn’t a total waste, right? You learned how to dance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still,” she continues, furrowing her brow. “I wonder what Sev and Peter were doing at Diagon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After he leaves Lily’s cabin, Remus sulks off to Cabin D to hopefully catch Sirius between lessons. He plops himself down on the steps just outside and waits there for what seems like a long time, picking the pink petals off of the flowering bush beside him. Eventually, the door creaks open and Remus looks up from where he sits to watch as Sirius holds the door wide for an attractive older lady with bleached blonde hair who slips a few bills into the pocket of his shirt and kisses his cheek. Remus scowls and looks away, waiting until the woman passes him on the steps and walks off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, babe,” Sirius says, wiping the red lipstick off of his face then waggles his eyebrows. “Come for a private lesson?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Remus asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that a lesson or something else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony, come on, don’t be like that,” Sirius says and takes Remus’s hand, bringing it up to his lips to kiss it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugs and rolls his eyes. “Whatever. It’s not as if any of this even matters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My father wants to leave tomorrow morning. To keep us apart,” he explains. “But we probably weren’t ever going to see each other again after this summer, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius raises his eyebrows. “We weren’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just assumed.” He shrugs again. “I mean, I’ll be in Chicago and you’ll be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d come visit you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You would? That’s got to be like a four hour drive!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Closer to three. I’ve already checked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony—Remus. I don’t want to lose this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiles. “Me neither.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you guys are leaving.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius sighs. “Well, this undoubtedly made my already shit day even worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I talked to my brother right after you left this morning,” Sirius explains. “He said our parents are getting harder to live with. They argue with him constantly. He wants to leave, but there’s nothing I can do right now. I’m already pinching pennies and booking as many private lessons as I can to save up for him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus frowns. “I’m sorry for being accusatory before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine. I know what it looks like. I know I’d be jealous as hell if I saw you with someone else like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’ll be pleased to know I have no interest in women,” Remus says and laughs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t want to see you with another man, either,” Sirius says, grinning as he leans forward to kiss Remus’s lips softly. He brings his hand up to card his fingers through Remus’s curls, then presses their foreheads together. “You really got me hooked on you, ya know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus pulls back from Sirius when he hears the voice, his face immediately turning red with embarrassment when he sees his mother standing there on the path in her pretty yellow sundress with her hand resting over her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom, I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this him? Your... dance instructor?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Remus says and stands up. “This is Sirius. He’s my…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius rises from the steps and reaches out to take her much smaller hand in his. “Mrs. Lupin,” he says, ducking his head a bit. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiles at him, then at Remus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t mention how handsome your boyfriend is. You’ve got good taste,” she says, making both men raise their eyebrows and look at one another. “What?” she continues, laughing. “I’m more open-minded than you think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom—” Remus says quietly, then moves forward to hug her. She holds him close and rubs his back soothingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a good boy,” she says, “and you are so loved. I’m proud of you, and proud to be your mother.” She strokes his hair before releasing him finally, and he pulls away from her, nodding as he wipes at his wet eyes with the sleeve of his cardigan. “I’ll talk to your father and see if we can finish up our stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he says softly. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Caring about you is the bare minimum I can do as a parent,” she says, pinching his chin between her fingers. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you had many partners?” Remus asks while his fingers play idly with the long dark strands of Sirius’s hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’re lying in Sirius’s bed beneath a square swath of fluorescent pink light from the setting sun just outside the window after another breathless romp. An oscillating fan whirrs quietly in the corner cooling the sweat that lingers on his skin, and Remus raises his head from where it’s resting on Sirius’s shoulder to look up at him as he holds his chin up with his palm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After his mother had successfully convinced his father to let them stay the two remaining days they’d booked, she had enthusiastically covered for Remus when he slipped out of the cabin while his father enjoyed his evening cigar on the porch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it’s because he’s never been much of a troublemaker and never needed anyone to take his side for anything until now, but he’s never seen this side of his mother. Hope Lupin has always urged her son to go after what he wants—like when he was 8 and obsessed with dinosaurs, and he dug up her flower garden looking for fossils, or when he was 12 and thought he might want to learn the saxophone but inevitably gave it up because the mouthpiece hurt his lips, or when he realized he wanted to be a lawyer and joined his high school’s debate team, and she repeatedly drove him across the state of Illinois to compete—but it’s never been like this, and while Remus has always been particularly fond of his mother, he currently finds himself with a renewed and strengthened respect for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Many dance partners? Sure, I suppose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sexual partners,” Remus corrects, watching Sirius’s face to catch his expression. He already knows the answer—with the way Sirius just expertly made love to him and how he has already taught Remus so much in two days, the truth is more than apparent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius sighs. “You don’t know what it’s like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t mind, you know,” Remus offers. “It’s okay. I just. I don’t have the experience you do. I’ve never done this before—anything like this. I’ve never even been kissed before you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I know,” Sirius says with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “It’s not as if it’s always my choice though, ya know? I’ve had boyfriends before. I’ve had girlfriends. But since I started working here, teaching dance, the women just keep coming and flashing cash at me. And I don’t always want to give in but I figure, hey, it’s easy money, right? I never have to see them again, and I can save up to bring my brother over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Sirius. I didn’t realize.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not losing sleep over it. It’s just one of those things. The worst part is that any summer flings I’ve had just kind of fizzle out before turning into anything real because of the jealously.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Remus says, suddenly realizing that this thing between them might not be what he had hoped, despite Sirius’s previous sentiments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Sirius says and pokes him. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re one of them, one of those throwaway summer flings. You’re different, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was smitten from the moment you told me you grabbed James’s balls,” Sirius says, grinning wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god.” Remus groans and covers his blushing face with his hands, but he can’t help but smile. “Please forget that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh but I can’t,” Sirius says and sits up, grabbing Remus’s wrists to pull his hands back down. “It was cute and you were like this… this timid little mouse—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugghhh!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—and I had to dance with you to loosen you up. Now look at you. A regular Fred Astaire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginger Rogers more like, since you won’t let me lead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius laughs and leans down, pressing a kiss to Remus’s cheek before nuzzling his ear. “You lead me all the time and don’t even realize it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Remus asks, turning his head a bit to look at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean,” Sirius says, “that you’ve already got me completely whipped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do. I’ve never fallen this hard or this fast for anyone or anything except dance. This might be your first time having sex, your first kiss... but you’re my first love. And I’m going to be a pitiful mess when you leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reaches up to stroke Remus’s hair back from his forehead and places a gentle kiss there, and Remus can’t help but move closer to him and melt into his touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish we had more time,” Remus says sadly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius hums. “We’d better make the most of it then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He holds Remus’s face in his hands and kisses him sweetly, and Remus can only sigh happily as he’s pushed backwards onto the bed, and the heavy weight of Sirius’s body on top of his own is a welcome sort of uncomfortable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them shift together while Sirius begins to kiss down Remus’s neck, across his shoulder, and over his collarbones. Gently, he sucks a purple bruise there, and while that feels amazing in its own right and sends a burst of goosebumps over Remus’s arms, it feels even better to have been marked and claimed by this beautiful man. To touch him. To kiss him. To be held in this tiny bed in this tiny cabin with the sound of the first drops of rain on the windowpanes and be touched everywhere like he’s never been touched before by hands that are strong and sure and a mouth so sweet and intoxicating that Remus is already fiercely addicted. To be taken there, with his thighs spread wide and Sirius’s hand between his legs and a gasping moan caught between his lips when he finishes in a bright white burst of dizzying ecstasy...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To love him, and be loved by him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> feels even better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the night comes down and wraps them both up in its warm, heavy velvet, even when the rain finally ceases, Remus remains there still, within Sirius’s arms, with the hot tingle of Sirius’s steady exhale on the back of his neck and his hand resting on the bony jut of Remus’s hip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This is worth every risk, Remus thinks to himself as his eyelids flutter and grow heavier. This is worth everything. If he could only keep this, life would truly be perfect.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Remus flings his towel over his shoulder and slips his tennis shoes on. The day is grey and overcast so the pool is relatively empty, and Remus had taken the opportunity to get in a quick swim before meeting up with his parents for lunch. Now, the sky is beginning to darken and there’s an ominous rumble of thunder far in the distance, so he grabs his things and begins to make his way back toward the guest cabins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The gazebo is a bit out of the way but he knows Sirius is just wrapping up a group lesson there, so Remus makes a point to take the longer route for the chance to see him for a moment. When it’s finally within his sight, Remus waits for the class to disperse, but that same blonde woman Remus had seen Sirius with before lingers behind to speak with him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never did take me up on that offer,” he can hear her say, and she reaches up to run her hand down the length of Sirius’s arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I’m all booked up for private lessons for the rest of the summer,” Sirius tells her, grabbing her wrist gently and pulling her hand off of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a shame,” she says, and Remus ducks to the side behind a tree to remain unseen. “My husband will be out all evening. I could double that price, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Mrs. Skeeter. I really can’t do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, then. If you change your mind, you know where my cabin is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus waits where he is as the sound of her high heels clicks down the wooden steps and along the paved pathway. After she passes him, he slips out from his makeshift hiding spot and waves to Sirius as he hurries up the gazebo steps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, beautiful,” Sirius says, smiling wide. He holds onto Remus’s hand and pulls him close. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just passing by. So you’re all booked up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you heard that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? That’s great news.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus raises his eyebrows. “Nah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I lied. I have openings, but I’m not interested in what she was offering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Remus says, feeling himself blush as the realization of what he actually overheard hits him square in the face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get the money some other way,” Sirius continues, and Remus frowns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I hadn’t blown the talent show. I’m so, so sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony, it’s fine, I’ll figure it out,” Sirius tries to assure him. “Don’t pout,” he says playfully and dips down to kiss Remus’s neck. Remus can’t help but laugh as he swats him away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m on my way to see my parents! The last thing I need is a hickey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm, but I want everyone to know you’re mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” Remus admits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Someday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius straightens himself out and glances down at his watch. “Well, I’ve got a meeting with Sluggy in ten minutes. Catch you later for dinner? I can bring some food back to my cabin. Make a little picnic on the floor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds perfect,” Remus agrees with another smile, and after one last quick kiss and a final squeeze of their hands, they part ways in the garden, with Sirius heading off to Slughorn’s office and Remus to the dining hall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he sits through another awkwardly silent meal with his scowling father and his mother rolling her eyes repeatedly, Remus pokes at his potato salad dejectedly. He wants his father’s approval desperately—nearly everything he’s ever done has been to impress him—and this new rift between the two of them feels like a literal crack in his heart. He’s thankful for his mother though, for continuously keeping the peace and quietly assuring Remus that his father will eventually come around. Remus hopes she’s right, but he won’t hold his breath about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glances up from his plate when Lily suddenly bursts into the dining hall looking bewildered. She leans on one crutch and hops over to their table, out of breath and watery-eyed. Remus immediately fears the worst has happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry to interrupt your meal,” she says to Remus’s parents who only look as confused as he probably does himself. Lily’s voice is shaky and her good leg is wobbly, so Remus stands to help hold her up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay? The baby—?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily shakes her head. “No, no. I’m okay, Moony. It’s Jimmy ‘nd Sirius though—they’re in Mr. Slughorn’s office right now. They’ve been fired. They’re waiting for the cops to show up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Remus questions, his eyebrows shooting upward. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’ve been accused of stealing guests’ wallets,” she explains, but Remus still isn’t understanding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” he asks again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just knew that boy was no good,” his father interjects. “He’s corrupted you and he’s a criminal on top of it all!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t corrupt me!” Remus exclaims without raising his voice as to not cause a scene. “And neither he nor James are criminals! There has to be some sort of misunderstanding.” He turns back to Lily. “Who accused them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That Peter kid. The waiter. Sev’s friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait. Peter?” Remus says, shaking his head as a second sudden realization dawns on him. “I think I need to talk to Mr. Slughorn.” He turns to face his father, seeking his support. “Will you come with me? We can’t let innocent men go to jail.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinks up at Remus from where he’s seated then turns his head to look at his wife. She raises an eyebrow as if quietly challenging him to support his son, and slowly, Lyall Lupin rises to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>————</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With Lily on Remus’s back and his father carrying her crutch while holding a much too small umbrella over them all, the three of them hurry off as quickly as possible down the path stomping through puddles to Mr. Slughorn’s office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrive, Lily hops off of Remus’s back and doesn’t even bother to knock—she opens the door and steps right inside much to the surprise of the four men sitting around Slughorn’s desk. Remus and his father exchange a look, then promptly step in behind her and shut the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius and James are across the desk from Slughorn staring up at Remus and Lily in shock, and Peter is sitting in the corner away from them, looking rather nervous and afraid. Rightfully so for falsely accusing his friends, Remus thinks to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is all this then Ms. Evans? I’m in the middle of something right now,” Slughorn says. “Lyall? What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Horace,” Remus’s father says, shrugging. “The kids felt the need to add their two cents to the situation going on in here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re innocent,” Lily says, leaning against the back of James’s chair with her hands. “They never stole anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m very sorry to tell you Lily, but I have several guests who have reported missing wallets and an eyewitness who says he saw them both stealing from our guests during yesterday’s lunch and that when confronted, he was threatened. The police are on their way now to pick them up and sort this out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But that’s a complete lie!” Lily interjects. “Jimmy was with me all afternoon. I had a appointment to see an OB.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OB?” Slughorn questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obstetrician,” Lyall clarifies. “For her baby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right,” Lily continues. “He even had Kingsley cover his shift. You can double check with Filch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slughorn raises his eyebrows. “Why was Mr. Potter with you for that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily, you don’t have to tell him—” James starts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By now, Remus know that Lily Evans doesn’t fear much. She isn’t afraid of being judged and she isn’t afraid to speak her truth about her love for James, but she is afraid </span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span> James, for what their relationship means for him, and Remus definitely notices her hesitation before answering the old man’s question. She swallows hard, but she tells him anyway, right to his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s the father of my baby,” she announces rather bluntly, and Remus could kiss her for being so bold and unapologetic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wants that—wants to be proud of who he is, wants that boldness. He’s never admired someone so much in his life, for the unending kindness she has shown him this summer, for understanding him even when he didn’t quite understand himself, and for the complete disregard for anyone attempting to tell her what she should or should not be doing. Although it may not have turned out exactly how she planned, she’s in control of her life, and Remus wants to be in control of his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Mr. Black?” Slughorn asks. “Minerva over at the Diagon Resort told me he participated in their talent show, and on that night several wallets were stolen. What are the odds of that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>participating</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sirius tries to explain. “I was on stage dancing, I was never even near any guests.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter was there that night too,” Remus says, finally speaking up. “I went with Sirius. We both saw Peter there in the audience.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right,” Sirius agrees. “He was with Sev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Lyall says, scratching his chin. “They both came to talk to me that night about the show.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Severus Snape?” Slughorn looks over at Peter, who is blushing profusely in his corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were just there watching,” Peter says defensively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, Sev told me he all of a sudden had all this money on hand,” Lily says. “Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he was stealin’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I also saw Peter with a guest’s wallet,” Remus adds, and Peter’s eyes suddenly go wide. “Was Mr. MacDonald one of the guests who reported a missing wallet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was,” Slughorn agrees, frowning. “But Mr. Black also refuses to supply an alibi for last night. I can only assume—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gave it back to him!” Peter tries to explain, but at this point nobody is believing anything he says and he goes on being ignored as he nervously twists the hem of his shirt in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It couldn’t have been Sirius,” Remus says. “I was with him. I stayed in his cabin all night and left this morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony—” Sirius starts to warn, turning toward him in his seat, but Remus cuts him off, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. I’m not afraid of them knowing, and you don’t have to protect me!” he says. “We were together all night and we were together the night of the talent show too. We’ve spent every night together for the past few days. I’m not ashamed of it,” he goes on, then looks at Sirius with a smile. “He’s a good man. I love him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slughorn looks up at Lyall in shock, and Remus knows he’s embarrassed his father but he can’t be bothered to care. This is who he is and Sirius is who he loves, and if his father can’t handle that then he can’t handle his father. Thankfully though, Lyall says nothing on the matter. He simply shrugs his shoulders, looks back at Slughorn, and says, “My son isn’t a liar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This... is a lot of information to take in on one night,” Slughorn says just as the revolving flash of red and blue lights illuminate the window of his office. He rises from his chair and everyone in the tiny space clears a way for him to waddle through to the door and step beneath the awning of the tiny porch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone is silent in the office. Remus can see the way James and Sirius are glaring daggers at Peter while he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He can feel his father’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t look up. He only wants to look at Sirius, to comfort him, so he reaches out to touch his shoulder. Sirius puts his hand over Remus’s and squeezes his fingers, and the seconds tick by painfully slowly before the office door reopens. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Pettigrew?” one of the two officers says as he steps inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter gulps. “Y-yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Slughorn has given his consent for us to search your cabin. Do you mind accompanying us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I have to?” he asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s better that you do,” the officer states. Peter nods, hesitating for a moment before rising to his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought we were friends, Pete,” James says, with a tinge of sadness to his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. To both of you,” Peter says to Sirius and James, still refusing to meet their eyes. “It was all Sev’s idea. He—he wanted to get back at James because of Lily and he just doesn’t like boys kissing boys. He promised me a lot of money and my mom is sick. I was too much of a pushover to tell him no.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come along then, son,” the officer says and takes hold of Peter’s arm as he leads him out of the office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Slughorn re-enters the office, shaking his head as he steps back behind his desk. “I’m sorry for all of this. I’d like to speak to Mr. Black alone for a moment, if you all don’t mind heading back to your cabins. The rain’s let up, at least. Hopefully this will all be taken care of by morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me know if you need anything, Horace,” Lyall says and shakes Slughorn’s hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Lyall. Thank you. Sorry to drag your boy into this mess.” He looks at Remus. “And thank you for your help tonight, Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be okay, I think,” Lyall says, and nods to Remus. “Let’s go then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily and James say goodnight to everyone and she takes her crutch before they head out together, hand in hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight Lily. James,” Remus says. “Goodnight Sirius.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Moony,” Sirius says, squeezing his hand one more time. “See you tomorrow, yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Remus gives him a final wave as he exits with his father behind him, and the two of them walk along together in the light drizzle back toward their cabin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s so much he wants to say to his father, but he didn’t even know how or where to begin. Thankfully, his father opens the conversation up first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a good thing you did for those two boys,” he says. “You always were whip-smart. Observant as hell, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re my friends,” Remus says and shrugs, staring down at his wet tennis shoes as he walks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Sirius? He’s... he’s what to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus lifts his head, glancing back up at the moon. Moony, mooning away. “A... my boyfriend, I suppose?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your lover?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus swallows thickly. “Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he—“ Lyall stops and takes a moment, as if he’s carefully choosing each of his words. “Have you had others? Boyfriends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Remus says, not failing to notice the faint look of relief that flashes across his father’s face. “But I’ve always been like this. I’ve always known. And I never thought I’d be able to have anything like what Sirius has given me. He’s been so kind, so sweet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He makes you happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unbearably so,” Remus says with a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lyall nods. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose all a parent can want is for their children to be happy. And if Sirius makes you happy then... well, then I suppose I’m okay with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus slides his eyes toward his father. “Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really,” Lyall confirms. “I can’t say that I understand it or that I agree with it, but you’re still my son.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, dad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And,” Lyall continues, “I’m really proud of what you did back there. You’ll make a fine lawyer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus can’t hold back the smile that forces itself across his face. His heart leaps inside his chest and his belly flip-flops uncomfortably, but he takes a deep, steadying breath and attempts to tamp down his desire to break out in a happy little mambo right there on the sidewalk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking I might like to go into civil rights law,” Remus says instead, and Lyall looks over at him, smiling wide himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that would be a very good fit indeed.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As soon as he’s finished his breakfast, Remus hurries out of the dining hall and across the resort to the employees’ cabins. The air is sticky-wet with humidity and the ground hasn’t quite dried from the rain last night, but it should be by noon, when the sun is high in the sky and the pavement is warm. For now, Remus hops over the puddles and dodges the worms and snails on the path through the garden.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The route is second nature to him by now, instinctual—he could probably walk it in his sleep and find Sirius’s cabin with no trouble avoiding the lake or climbing up the porch steps. But when he gets there today, there’s no response after he knocks on Sirius’s door. He attempts to peek into the window, but the curtain is down. Sighing, he glances at his watch. It’s only a quarter past 8 and he knows Sirius doesn’t have any classes until after 9. He supposes he could be at either James or Lily’s cabins, and Lily’s is closer so he begins there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Moony,” she says forlornly after she’s answered the door, leaning on her crutch. “Sirius just stopped by ‘nd— well, he said he’d tell you what happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something happened?” he asks, already feeling the panic rise up inside his throat like acidic bile, wondering what could possibly have happened within the hours since he saw Sirius last. “Is he okay? Was he hurt?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s fine. He should tell you himself though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not at his cabin,” he says, not failing to  notice that, embarrassingly, the pitch of his voice has gone up with his worry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she says and rubs his shoulder. “Calm down, sweetie. He’s probably at his car.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Car. Right,” he says. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. Come back and talk to me after if you need to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus isn’t sure what that means but he can only assume that Sirius has bad news, though he can’t imagine what. Last night ended so nicely, or so it had seemed. Sirius and James were proven to be innocent, Peter was proven to be a lying little sneak, and his own father had even started to come around on the whole Gay Son Thing. His mind races through a myriad of ridiculous scenarios but he can’t come up with anything logical, and just as he’s about to turn around the corner of Lily’s cabin and head toward the employee parking area, he spots Sirius coming out of his cabin carrying a box with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius!” Remus calls out to him. Sirius looks up, shifting the weight of the box to one arm and waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he says when Remus approaches. “I was just on my way to see you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Remus asks. “Lily said you have something to tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Sirius sighs and continues walking along with Remus to the parking area. “‘Ol Sluggy fired me last night after you all left.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?! Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The black car has the trunk wide open and Remus can see that Sirius must’ve been packing his things all morning. The backseat is full of open boxes of clothing and records haphazardly thrown into them, and Remus furrows his brow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He fired you because of me,” he says, slumping backward to lean against the car while Sirius puts the box and bag inside the trunk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He said it was because it’s against policy to </span>
  <em>
    <span>consort</span>
  </em>
  <span> with the guests,” Sirius explains, but he doesn’t sound convinced and he slams the trunk shut with more force than necessary. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think he’s full of it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he’s full of it! It’s because you’re a guy! I guarantee he knew about the women I was seeing. Mrs. Skeeter isn’t subtle, and I’m certainly not the only one who has </span>
  <em>
    <span>consorted</span>
  </em>
  <span> with the guests. Sluggy never said shit about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So let’s go back to his office and fight him about it!” Remus says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that simple, Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure it is! I argued for you last time! I can do it again!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t, okay? That’s not how the world works.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you never speak up about being mistreated the world will never change. You’re not even trying!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> try, alright? Just—come on, I don’t want our last conversation to be a fight.” Sirius takes Remus’s hands into his own, stroking his thumbs over Remus’s wrists. Remus looks down at their hands and laces their fingers together, frowning as he leans forward to press his forehead to Sirius’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This was the best summer of my life,” he says quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So where are you going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dunno. I figure I’ll try the Diagon Resort. If they don’t want me, I’ll just keep driving until I find something. That’s how I ended up here in the first place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you could head East,” Remus suggests. “Toward Chicago?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have a pen? Paper?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um.” Sirius pulls his hands off of Remus and pats his pockets, then leans through the open driver’s side window of his car and comes back with a scrap of a receipt and a little golf pencil. “This okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus takes them both and smooths the wrinkles out of the receipt by pressing it against the windshield, then begins scribbling. “This is my parents’ address,” he explains. “I don’t know the address of the dorms yet, but you can write to me here and they’ll forward it once they know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Sirius says and takes the paper, folding it up carefully. “Come here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus leans into him once more, wrapping his arms around Sirius’s middle. Sirius strokes his hair back from his forehead and sighs again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a long moment of silence with just the two of them clinging to one another, Remus asks, “Whatever happened to Peter last night, anyway?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius snorts. “Cops searched his cabin. Well, not so much searched as opened the door and found Sev in there. Turns out he was staying in there with Pete ever since he was fired for hurting Lily. They found a whole bag filled with cash and wallets. Arrested them both and hauled ‘em off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. I’m really proud of the way you handled that whole thing, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That was pretty cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t wanna say goodbye.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moony. Remus,” Sirius says, and Remus looks up at him. “It’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> goodbye. We’ll be together again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. You’re right. It still hurts, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know—</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sirius pulls away from him suddenly and opens one of the doors to the backseat. He kneels on the seat as he rummages through one of the boxes, then appears again with a Polaroid camera in his hands. “I hope this thing still works. C’mere,” he says, gesturing for Remus to move into frame as he holds the camera out in front of himself. Remus squeezes in close and smiles, and just before Sirius snaps the picture, he leans down to drop a kiss onto Remus’s cheek. He pulls the photo out of the camera and they watch it slowly develop together. “Something to hold me over,” Sirius says, and carefully he leans back into the driver’s side window and adjusts the picture to sit pinched between the knobs of the radio.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take another one for me,” Remus says, and Sirius’s obliges, holding out the camera again. This time, Remus cups Sirius’s face in his hands and pulls him down to his level to kiss his cheek. Sirius laughs out loud and snaps the photo, and as they watch the picture appear in front of them, he turns to Remus once more, handing the keepsake to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gotta go now, Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Remus says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really do love you, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiles. Sirius’s sweet words never fail to make him glow from the inside out, from the marrow of his bones, into his heart and lungs and belly, and out through the pores of his skin making him feel as if he’s beaming brighter than the moon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” he says, holding their photograph against his chest. “And I can’t wait until I can see you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully it won’t be too long,” Sirius agrees. He leans down to kiss Remus again, softer this time, more slowly, as his hands move reverently over Remus’s backside one last time. He grips his hips, pushing forward against him gently, and Remus groans at the sensation between their bodies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go before I get you into any more trouble,” Remus tells him, nearly breathlessly as Sirius chuckles against his ear with that deep, spine melting timbre of his, although what he really wants is to throw caution to the wind and climb on top of Sirius’s lap in the front seat of his car. What he really wants is for Sirius to make love to him one last time, before however long it is until they see one another again. What he really wants is to dance with him once more, to press against one another with nothing but the music and the sway of their hips guiding them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Sirius presses a quick kiss to his pouting lips, tells him that he loves him again, gets into his car, and drives away down the dirt road waving his arm out of the window as he leaves Remus behind.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>It isn’t fair.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s all Remus can think as he sits at the little round table with his parents, watching the most incredibly boring talent show he’s ever seen in his life. He’s paying more attention to the audience though, to the couples sitting close together, young and old alike—people who’ve been married for fifty years and those who have only met one another this summer, and how they’re able to fearlessly love in public. He wishes Sirius were here with him, to hold him, to run his fingers over Remus’s hands, to kiss his cheek, to crack jokes and laugh with him about the terrible singers and the accordion player and the yodeler and the embarrassing White woman in the coconut bra poorly appropriating the Hula. But Sirius isn’t here, he’s gone, and Remus isn’t certain when or if he’ll ever see him again, so he’s tucked himself into the corner against the wall to sulk alone in his perfectly pressed beige suit with his elbow on the edge of the table and his chin in his palm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should be more grateful, he supposes, that he’s even met Sirius at all. He could’ve gone to Florida with Alice and Frank. His parents could’ve chosen something else for them to do together. He could have chickened out of trying anything new this summer and remained within his own comfort zone. He could have not gotten friendly with James or Lily, could’ve not gotten curious and gone exploring, could’ve not danced with Sirius on that first night. He could have never admitted to those feelings he kept hidden away from everyone—from society, from his parents, from himself—but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> and now he wonders how it is that he’s just supposed to go on living as if none of this happened. As if Sirius didn’t just literally waltz into his life and sweep him off of his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Slughorn takes the stage then, waddling up to the microphone, and explains something about how the judges will begin tallying up their votes soon. He continues to ramble on about what a wonderful summer it’s been and how he hopes everyone will be back again next year. But Remus has checked out at this point. He’s tired and bored and ready to go home and pack his things to head off to school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door swings open, throwing a bright beam of light across the stage, and everyone in the hall turns to look. Remus might be a little delusional due to his terminal Stage Three Lovesickness, but he’s pretty sure that’s Sirius standing there. He blinks, rubs his eyes, but no, he’s not delusional at all—that's definitely Sirius weaving his way through the tables and coming straight for him with a record tucked under his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody puts Moony in the corner,” he says, and holds out his hand, palm up. Remus looks up at him curiously, looks from his shocked father to his smiling mother to Sirius again, then takes his hand and allows Sirius to pull him to his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you doing here?” Remus asks him, not failing to notice how they’re headed for the stage as Slughorn stammers into the microphone and the crowd begins to murmur amongst themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m an idiot for leaving you without one final dance,” he says. “It’s how we met, and it’s how we’re going to put a pin in things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Remus says again. He’s not quite sure what Sirius has on his mind, but they’re running up the steps of the stage together. Sirius hands the record to someone at the side behind the curtain, then pulls Remus along to center stage and takes the microphone from Slughorn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Black, what is the meaning of this?!” Slughorn babbles on, but Sirius only pats his shoulder amicably and pushes him away gently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um. Sorry to interrupt your evening like this, folks,” Sirius says into the mic, “but since I am no longer an employee at this resort, me and Moony here are entering the talent show at the last second. I know most people are scared of, or maybe confused to see two men dancing together, but I promise you’re going to enjoy the show. And we’re going to win.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hands the microphone back to Slughorn who takes it and shrugs as he steps to the side. Clearly Sirius is going through with this no matter what and, at last, he takes Remus’s right hand in his left, places his own right hand on Remus’s waist, and gets into frame just as the beginning notes of their mambo plays over the speakers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And just like second nature, like magic, Sirius leads Remus through the routine with the tiniest flicks of his wrist to pivot him this way and that, the raising of his arm to turn Remus around, and the easy strength in which he dips Remus and drops him down so low that the audience gasps in fear. Remus points his arm and toes and holds the pose until Sirius pulls him back up and into his arms to continue their dance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Follow my lead,” Sirius eventually says, and spins Remus out across the stage effortlessly, then hops down from the stage, leaving Remus bewildered and alone when he stops his turn to hold his next pose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly, Remus realizes what Sirius is doing when he reaches out to him and grabs onto his waist, taking him down from the stage in one easy, graceful movement. Sirius shimmies away from him down the makeshift aisle between the tables and, once he’s far enough away, holds his arms out, beckoning Remus to do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Remus does. He runs straight to him, bending his knees just as Sirius raises him up over his head, holding onto him securely while Remus throws out his arms and extends his legs as if he’s flying, soaring freely over the audience as Sirius turns in place. The crowd applauds wildly and Remus can’t help but laugh at both the sheer ridiculousness of it all and the absolute euphoria it has brought out of him. Sirius releases him then, catching him within his arms before easing him back down to his feet and spinning Remus out again to another wonderful burst of applause and a standing ovation from the entertained guests as their music fades out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus looks at Sirius and Sirius looks back at him, and together they take a bow there in the middle of the hall as partners, in front of all these strangers and his parents and Mr. Slughorn and all of the new friends he’s made over the last few weeks. His heart is racing as Sirius takes him into his arms and kisses him squarely on the lips, and they don’t even bother to stay and hear the announcement that they’ve won the show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, they’ve run off to Sirius’s car for one final moment of steamy, primal bliss, and as the windows fog up all around them and their hands and mouths skitter over sweat-slickened skin, Remus realizes he’s found not only love this summer—but also himself.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A few notes:</p><p>1. The title of this story is borrowed from the 1963 song <i>Be My Baby</i> by The Ronettes.</p><p>2. Racial segregation during the Jim Crow era was a system that relegated African Americans to the position of second class citizens, lasting through the mid-1960s. The most common types of segregation mandated that public institutions and business owners keep blacks and whites separated.</p><p>3. In 1961, Illinois became the first state to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults in private.<br/>4. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, many would flee to the United States. The first wave of emigration occurred directly after the revolution, followed by the Freedom Flights from 1965 to 1973. </p><p>All in all, this is a light-hearted, fluffy romance, but I wanted to base it within an accurate history.</p><p>Hope you enjoyed it! Come find me on <a href="https://remus-john-lupin.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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